Opium poppies and their exporter, J Taranto (from J Taranto & Sons - Exporters of Izmir (Smyrna), Turkey) (left) at a field likely to be close to Afyon. The name of the city of Afyon is derivated from Opium. Only the "milk "of opium is dangerous because it has a base of Morphine. Cultivation of opium poppies for food, anesthesia, and ritual purposes dates back to at least the Neolithic. The Sumerian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Minoan, Greek, Roman, and Persian Empires each made widespread use of opium, which was the most potent form of pain relief, allowing ancient surgeons to perform prolonged surgical procedures. It is grown for the medicinal trade today.